Dhaka maul Sylhet on day of revenge
On a day of revenge, Dhaka Dynamites handed Sylhet Sixers an eight-wicket thrashing, the same margin of defeat that they were subjected to a week ago against the debutants.
In the double-header opening day of the Bangladesh Premier League's Dhaka leg at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday, the defending champions actually overpowered Sylhet after Rajshahi Kings avenged their Sylhet-leg defeat against Rangpur Rigers in the first game.
The Dhaka crowd witnessed a glimpse of the fury of one Shahid Afridi, who was playing his first game after missing the opening leg in Sylhet. After his four-wicket haul had restricted Sylhet to posting a hopeless 101-9, he rained sixes and fours while opening the innings with West Indian Evin Lewis.
Afridi smashed two sixes in the first over off Tim Bresnan, followed by another one off Taijul Islam in the second and after a boundary in the third over the right-hander smashed two more sixes, again off Taijul. And by the time he was out in the fifth over for 37 off 17 balls, a leg-before decision that appeared a bit harsh, Dhaka had raced to 59.
Lewis then took over from where Afridi had left off and the left-hander was in a hurry to finish things off as he hit a flurry of sixes and fours. He smashed 44 off 18 balls as Dhaka blitzed to 106-2 in just 7.5 overs. Dhaka skipper Shakib Al Hasan joined the fun with an unbeaten 18 off 11 balls as his side registered their second win in three games.
A total of 11 sixes were struck, five apiece from Afridi and Lewis, who clobbered 26 runs in the fourth over off left-arm spinner Taijul.
English pacer Bresnan, who removed Afridi and Cameron Delport in successive deliveries, was the only notable performer for the Sixers.
Earlier, Sylhet suffered a horrible batting collapse after being sent in to bat and were reeling at 53 for 9 in 13 overs before Abul Hasan and Taijul added 48 runs for the last wicket.
Abul remained unbeaten on a 26 ball 30 while Taijul was not out on 16.
Afridi took 4-16 while West Indies leg-spinner Sunil Narine scalped three to reach the 300-wicket landmark.
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